Department for Transport

Egypt: Aviation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department plans to publish the listed dates for flights to Sharm el Sheikh airport on which his Department advised against all travel to the region.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The advice against all but essential travel by air to or from Sharm el-Sheikh was issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 4 November 2015, and flights by UK carriers were suspended on the same day. Repatriation flights took place between 6–17 November 2015, supported by additional security measures. The Government is working closely with the Egyptian authorities with a view to a resumption of flights as soon as possible, whereupon scheduling of such flights would be a matter for the airlines concerned.

Taxis

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) officials, (b) other staff and (c) contracted workers in his Department are working on taxi and private hire vehicle policy.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) officials, (b) other staff and (c) contracted workers in his Department are working on licensing of taxi and private hire vehicles in the Buses and Taxis division.

Andrew Jones: There are currently (a) two officials, (b) one further official on secondment to the Department and (c) no contracted workers working on taxi and private hire vehicle policy in the Department for Transport. All work in the Buses and Taxis division. The subject forms one part of the officials’ roles. This level of staffing for work on taxis and private hire vehicles is essentially consistent with that going back to 2009/10.

Railways: South of England

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve rail infrastructure and service in the south of England.

Claire Perry: As part of our Rail Investment Strategy, the Government is investing over £15 billion in enhancements to the rail network. This includes the modernisation of the Great Western Main Line, and investing £700 million on infrastructure in the most congested routes in London and the South East. In addition, we are delivering the £14.8bn Crossrail and £6.5bn Thameslink projects. Further, our franchising programme is delivering valuable passenger benefits, such as smart ticketing and faster services.

Motor Vehicles: Brakes

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of autonomous emergency braking systems in reducing the number of road traffic accidents.

Andrew Jones: The Department has not made any detailed assessment of the effectiveness of autonomous emergency braking systems, but we are aware that a number of studies have highlighted the potential for a reduction in collisions. Most trucks exceeding 8 tonnes and coaches registered after 1 November 2015 are fitted with it, and we support measures by EuroNCAP to encourage its fitment in new cars.

Driving: Licensing

Nusrat Ghani: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many holders of full driving licences in Wealden constituency are people aged over 70 who have renewed their licence.

Andrew Jones: On 30 January 2016, there were 28,703 holders of full driving licences in the Wealden constituency postal code areas over the age of 70.

Driving: Licensing

Nusrat Ghani: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people in Wealden constituency have a full driving licence.

Andrew Jones: On 30 January 2016, there were 188,244 full driving licence holders in the Wealden constituency postal code areas.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Local Government Finance: Rural Areas

Dr Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to protect the rural services delivery grant.

Mr Marcus Jones: Parliament approved the local government finance settlement for 2016-17 on 10 February. Recognising the particular costs of providing services in sparse rural areas, Rural Services Delivery Grant will increase by more than fivefold in 2016-17, to £80.5 million.

Tenancy Deposit Schemes

Dr Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what metrics his Department uses to measure the effectiveness of deposit protection schemes.

Brandon Lewis: The Tenancy Deposit Schemes provide monthly reports on service performance and six monthly statistical returns covering deposits accepted, the number of complaints received and the number of cases adjudicated upon. These reports are discussed quarterly with the Department.The Tenancy Deposit Schemes in England are currently protecting over 3 million deposits on behalf of tenants, helping to raise standards in the private rented sector and ensuring that tenants are treated fairly at the end of the tenancy.

Tenancy Agreements: Domestic Violence

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to exempt victims of domestic abuse who move home to escape violence from the provisions on fixed term tenancies of the Housing and Planning Bill.

Brandon Lewis: Fixed term tenancies will enable local councils to review on-going need for a tenancy and, if this is still the case, to issue a new tenancy for the same or a more suitable home.Where existing lifetime tenants transfer, the provisions in the Bill ensure that local authorities retain a discretion to offer the tenant a further lifetime tenancy in their new home.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Yemen: Military Intervention

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether the 119 Saudi-led coalition sorties documented in the Final Report of the UN Panel of Experts in Yemen represent potential violations of international humanitarian law.

Mr Philip Hammond: Holding answer received on 02 February 2016



We take all allegations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations very seriously. The MOD monitors incidents of alleged IHL violations using available information which in turn informs our overall assessment of IHL compliance in Yemen. This includes looking at the allegations raised in the UN Panel of Experts’ report. Looking at the information available to us, we have assessed that there has not been a breach of IHL by the coalition, but continue to monitor the situation closely, seeking further information where appropriate.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the government of Saudi Arabia following receipt of the Final Report of the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen.

Mr Philip Hammond: Holding answer received on 02 February 2016



As I said in Parliament on 28 January, we regularly raise the importance of compliance with International Humanitarian Law with the Saudi Government and other members of the military coalition. I raised the issue of IHL compliance on my recent trip to Rome with my Saudi Arabian counterpart Adel Al-Jubeir. The Saudi government have their own internal procedures for investigations and we encourage them to thoroughly investigate all allegations of non-compliance including those reports in the UN.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether there have been any unintentional violations of international humanitarian law carried out by Saudi coalition forces in Yemen.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are aware of reports of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) by actors to the conflict and take these very seriously. It is important that all sides conduct thorough and conclusive investigations into all incidents where it is alleged that IHL has been breached. As the Saudis themselves announced on Sunday, they have mechanisms in place to investigate alleged incidents and to learn lessons if things go wrong. The Ministry of Defence also monitors incidents of alleged IHL violations using available information, which in turn informs our overall assessment of IHL compliance in Yemen. At this stage, looking at all the information available to us, we have not assessed that there has been a breach of IHL by the coalition, but continue to monitor the situation closely, seeking further information where appropriate.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether there have been any unintentional violations of international humanitarian law carried out by Saudi coalition forces in Yemen.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are aware of reports of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) by all sides to the conflict and take these very seriously. It is important that all sides conduct thorough and conclusive investigations into all incidents where it is alleged that IHL has been breached. As the Saudi Arabian authorities announced on 31 January, they have mechanisms in place to investigate alleged incidents and to learn lessons if things go wrong. The Ministry of Defence also monitors incidents of alleged IHL violations using a range of available information, which in turn informs our overall assessment of IHL compliance in Yemen. At this stage, looking at all the information available to us, we have not assessed that there has been a breach of IHL by the coalition, but we continue to monitor the situation closely, seeking further information where appropriate.

China: Overseas Trade

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on Chinese market economy status.

Mr Hugo Swire: Our officials regularly exchange views with the US on this issue. Given that the decision on whether or not to grant China market economy status will be taken at the European Union level, the government’s main discussions have been with the Commission and other Member States. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills my right hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Sajid Javid) on 29 January 2016 (PQ 24530).

Attorney General

Offences against Children

Mr Gavin Shuker: To ask the Attorney General, how many people have been charged with paying for sexual services of a child under section 47 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 where (a) the victim was under 18, and those charged did not reasonably believe that the victim was 18 or over and (b) the victim was under 13 in each of the last three years.

Robert Buckland: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of defendants prosecuted for offences brought under section 47 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 or the ages of victims. This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost. However, records are held showing the overall number of offences, rather than defendants, in which a prosecution commenced at magistrates’ courts. These are detailed below.  2012-20132013-20142014-2015Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.47263649Note: A single defendant may be prosecuted for multiple offences.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Work Experience: Social Mobility

Dr Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to inform businesses about the effect that (a) paid and (b) unpaid internships have on social mobility.

Nick Boles: The Government believes in fair wages for fair work and opportunity for all. When an intern meets the legal definition of a worker they must be paid at least the National Minimum Wage. We actively promote understanding of the importance of pay for interns through our Social Mobility Business Compact, which secures agreement from business to take measures to improve social mobility. In addition, the Common Best Practice Code for High Quality Internships secures collective commitment from leading employers to ensure internships are fairly paid. These initiatives help to ensure employers are fully aware of the types of standards and expectations that need to be in place in the intern-employer relationship.Separately, we have made it simpler to name and shame employers that do not comply with national minimum wage regulations and complaints from interns are now fast-tracked by HMRC.

Post Offices: Closures

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many Post Office Crown branches have closed or merged since the end of the last formal Crown Transformation Programme.

George Freeman: Provision of its Crown branches is the operational responsibility of Post Office Limited. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on this matter. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

New Businesses: Wealden

Nusrat Ghani: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many new businesses have been set up in Wealden constituency since May 2010.

Anna Soubry: There is no single data source that comprehensively measures all business start-ups within the UK. However, ONS has published statistics showing that there were 2,770 businesses newly registered for VAT or PAYE in the Wealden constituency between 2010 and 2014. Some newly registered businesses will have been trading for a number of years and other active businesses will not be covered because they are operating below the VAT and PAYE registration thresholds.

Department for Education

Schools: Registration

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what safeguards are in place to ensure that unregistered schools meet appropriate standards of (a) educational provision and (b) safety.

Edward Timpson: It is a criminal offence to operate an unregistered independent school. The Department for Education has recently published policy setting out our approach to prosecution which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulating-independent-schools.We have also agreed additional resources for Ofsted to pursue cases.The responsibility for ensuring that a child of compulsory school age receives a suitable full-time education rests with the child’s parents, either by the child’s attendance at a registered school or otherwise. ‘Otherwise’ can include education at home or attendance at settings which are not schools. If the local authority is not satisfied that a child is receiving suitable education, it has a duty to make a school attendance order.Local authorities’ safeguarding duties apply wherever children are educated, whether in registered schools or elsewhere.The Department also recently completed a call for evidence on proposals for the registration and inspection of out-of-school settings providing intensive education which were announced in the Counter-Extremism Strategy. Over 3,000 people completed the response form, either online or manually. The Department received a significant number of further representations to the consultation by email and post. All responses and representations are being logged, analysed and verified.In line with Cabinet Office guidance, we will be publishing a response to the consultation in due course.

School Meals

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has for the implementation of the recommendations in the School Food Plan (SFP) after the end of the SFP office's contract with her Department at the end of March 2016.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education: Standards

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many complaints Ofsted has received about the quality of PHSE education in schools since 2010.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw. I have asked him to write to you and a copy of his reply will be placed in the library of the House.

Ministry of Justice

Suspended Sentences

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many suspended sentences were given for people with (a) one, (b) between one and 10 and (c) more than 10 previous convictions in each of the last five years.

Andrew Selous: Repeat offenders can expect to go straight to prison if they commit a serious offence. Serious offenders are now more likely to go to prison and for longer. The courts have discretion to suspend a custodial sentence for any offence where the sentence is for two years or less. This decision rests with the independent judiciary. The judiciary consider previous convictions as an aggravating factor when sentencing. The court may impose community requirements on the offender, and if the offender is found to breach any requirement or commits a further offence whilst the order is in force they will be sent to prison. Offenders serving suspended custodial sentences have a lower re-offending rate than offenders serving immediate, short custodial sentences. The information requested is contained in the table below.Offenders1 sentenced to suspended sentence for indictable2 and summary offences3 by the number of previous convictions4, England and Wales, 12 months ending June 2011 - 12 months ending June 201512 months ending June Total number of offenders sentenced to suspended sentence  Number of previous convictions  onebetween one and tenmore than ten 2011 42,360  4,725  16,565  11,995 2012 40,894  4,305  15,601  12,169 2013 41,256  4,308  15,311  13,013 2014 46,265  4,580  16,806  15,340 2015 50,058  5,172 18,019 16,509 Source: Ministry of Justice Police National Computer (PNC) extract1. Figures are based on counting the number of occasions an offender was sentenced to suspended sentences for an offence in England and Wales. An offender can appear more than once in the total if the offender was sentenced on multiple occasions in the year. 2. Indictable offences including triable either-way offences.3. Only includes recordable summary offences recorded on the PNC. The recordable offences are defined as offences that can attract a custodial sentence plus some additional offences defined in legislation. A range of less serious summary offences, such as TV licence evasion and many motoring offences are not recorded on the PNC.4. Figures are based on counting the number of occasions on which offenders have previously received a conviction for any offence recorded on the Police National Computer, including some offences committed outside of England and Wales. Where there were multiple offences on the same occasion, only the primary offence as recorded on the Police National Computer would be counted.5. All data have been taken from the MoJ extract of the Police National Computer. This includes details of all convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings given for recordable offences (see www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2000/1139/schedule/made for definition). It is therefore possible that some offenders presented in the table above have previously also received convictions for offences not recorded on the PNC.

Divorce

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people (a) applied for and (b) were granted divorce in each of the last five years.

Caroline Dinenage: Details of the number of applications for divorce and the number of decrees issued by the courts are published in Table 7 of the Family Court Statistics Quarterly and the December 2015 report is at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-court-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2015

Prisons: Crimes of Violence

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much has been paid in compensation to prison staff in relation to prisoner attacks in each year since 2010.

Andrew Selous: From the data currently held by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) it is not possible to distinguish prison staff compensation claims for prisoner attacks from other similar claims such as other injuries at work.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Publicity

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department spent on advertising, marketing and external communications in each year since 2010.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office spend on advertising, marketing and external communications since 2010-11 is shown below:   2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15Spend£7,357---£41,155

Department for Work and Pensions

Work Programme: Mental Illness

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people of working age with mental health problems have been assisted into work through his Department's work programme in each of the last two years.

Priti Patel: The information requested is not available.

New Enterprise Allowance

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the new Enterprise Allowance scheme.

Priti Patel: Latest statistics show that 76,960 new businesses have been set up with the support of the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA). A cohort study of the initial participants in the scheme showed that 78% of the first 2,960 NEA participants who started to trade remained off benefits for 52 weeks. In January 2016 we published an evaluation report which showed that business established with the support of NEA had a sustainability rate of 80%, with over 90% of these trading for over 12 months. Around half of the respondents to the survey reported an expansion in their customer base or an increase in turnover. The majority of respondents were planning to expand their business in the future.

New Enterprise Allowance: Applications

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have applied to the National Enterprise Allowance scheme in each of the last five years.

Priti Patel: Claimants who are interested in participating in the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) are referred by their work coach to a provider so that they can explore the self-employment options. Participation is voluntary. The take up of the NEA is closely linked to the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, which begun to drop in 2013 – 2014. It is also worth noting that during 2013 the Department ran a high profile marketing campaign to promote the NEA, using posters & leaflets in jobcentres, YouTube videos, Webinars etc. which may also have influenced take up of the scheme in that year. The table below shows how many starts there were with a business mentor in each financial year. NEA mentor starts by financial year (1)Number (2,3)April 2011 - March 201215,170April 2012 - March 201331,880April 2013 - March 201447,800April 2014 - March 201539,830April 2015 - September 2015 (six months)18,200 (1) Data Source - DWP LMS opportunities evaluation database October 2015 for all quarters, DWP PRaP database October 2015 for Jan-Sept 2015.(2) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.(3) It is possible that an individual may start to work with a mentor more than once and therefore appear more than once in these figures.

New Enterprise Allowance: Advisory Services

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many National Enterprise Allowance advisers are employed as part of that scheme.

Priti Patel: The NEA is delivered by contracted providers who use a combination of paid and volunteer mentors to deliver business mentoring support. The exact number of mentors used by providers is not known.

Department for Work and Pensions: Debt Collection

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with how many debt collection agencies his Department has a contract.

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent on using debt collection agencies in each of the last seven years.

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how his Department regulates the activities of debt collection agencies during the period that they are under contract with his Department.

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department's policy is on using debt collection agencies for collection of outstanding payments.

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment of the ethical standards of debt collection agencies his Department undertakes before entering into a contract with such agencies.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department’s policy is to recover outstanding debt whenever possible. Where a person is not in receipt of benefit and all the Department’s attempts at recovery have been unsuccessful, the overpayment will be referred to a debt collection agency. The debtor is always given an opportunity to make an agreement to pay the Department before the debt is sent to a debt collection agency to recover. With the exception of one service provider currently being used by the Child Maintenance Group, the Department does not hold extant, direct contracts with any debt collection agencies although the nature of some of the expired contracts means that a number of collections are still being made. DWP now makes use of one main contract with Indesser. The Framework Contract is managed by Cabinet Office. Indesser manage relationships with a number of Debt Collection Agencies on behalf of all Government Customers. Under the terms of the Framework Agreement, Indesser and its sub-contractors must comply with relevant industry and public sector standards for service delivery including those of the Credit Services Association, the Code of Practice and the Financial Conduct Authority guidelines. The standards are listed in the DMI Framework Agreement. Indesser reviews subcontractor compliance with these standards through audit and assurance activity, including responsibility for ensuring that they comply with relevant industry standards, managing their performance, and monitoring any complaints. Customer departments (i.e. DWP) in turn receive Letters of Assurance which they review to ensure standards are being achieved and the audits are effective. The breakdown of figures you have requested is derived from operational processes and systems designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As it was not originally intended for publication, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics. The debt collection agency costs of the Child Maintenance Group and DWP are given separately. Please note that the figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000. The cost to the DWP of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:  Financial YearSpendRecoveries2009/2010£1.59m£8.50m2010/2011£1.33m£9.77m2011/2012£2.11m£13.94m2012/2013£1.95m£14.15m2013/2014£2.12m£15.00m2014/2015£2.52m£17.30m2015/2016*£1.64m£11.05m*to date   The cost to Child Maintenance Group of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:Financial YearSpendRecoveries2009/2010£1.25m£10.20m2010/2011£0.56m£4.68m2011/2012£0.35m£1.35m2012/2013£0.21m£1.71m2013/2014£0.05m£1.21m2014/2015£0.10m£0.86m2015/2016 to date£0.07m£0.53m

New Enterprise Allowance: Costs

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the annual cost to the public purse is of the National Enterprise Allowance.

Priti Patel: The cost of the National Enterprise Allowance for 2014/2015 is set out below: Financial Year2014/15April£2,870,327May£2,667,964June£2,684,145July£3,024,793August£2,680,226September£2,745,898October£2,851,252November£2,401,930December£2,700,389January£2,292,763February£1,920,337March£2,255,913

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Visual Arts

Nigel Adams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the economic value of the visual arts sector was in the last five years.

Mr Edward Vaizey: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 11 February 2016.The correct answer should have been:

The visual arts are a very important part of the UK's wider cultural and creative industries sectors and employ 1.8 million people. According to the latest set of government statistics published last month, the value of sectors categorised under 'artistic creation' - which include the visual arts - between 2010 and 2014 was £9,355,000. £9.35 billion.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The visual arts are a very important part of the UK's wider cultural and creative industries sectors and employ 1.8 million people. According to the latest set of government statistics published last month, the value of sectors categorised under 'artistic creation' - which include the visual arts - between 2010 and 2014 was £9,355,000. £9.35 billion.

Home Office

Immigration Controls

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of people had their passports checked on exiting the UK at (a) Dover and (b) all UK airports, seaports and ferry ports in (i) 2013, (ii) 2014 and (iii) 2015.

Mrs Theresa May: Holding answer received on 21 January 2016



Embarkation controls were abolished in two phases in 1994 and 1998, as the paper-based checks were deemed outdated and checks were not carried out on all modes of transport. Consequently the Home Office does not hold the data requested.Since April 2015 exit data has been collected by carriers from all scheduled international commercial services departing the UK from air and sea ports and from international rail stations, except those services not within the scope. Departure data is collected by carriers and port operators and transmitted to Home Office systems, where work takes place to match it to arrival data, visa conditions and other information as appropriate.

Home Office: Performance Standards

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department plans to take to implement the recommendations of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman in its Insights into selected government departments, published on 10 November 2015, on scrutiny of the quality of its overall performance.

James Brokenshire: The cases referred to in the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman report do not reflect current visa and asylum processes. We have made significant improvements in our handling of complaints in recent years and have a clear plan to improve this element of our service further.This plan takes account of feedback from the Public and Health Services Ombudsman and we will continue to work with the Ombudsman to identify further service improvements.

Asylum

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which electoral wards in England have exceeded a one in 200 saturation level for asylum placements; and by what percentage each such ward has exceeded that level.

James Brokenshire: As part of the regional dispersal policy for asylum seekers established in 2000, the advisory cluster limit of 1 asylum seeker for every 200 of the settled population, applies to local authority area level only. Data on the numbers of asylum seekers in local authority areas is published and can be found at (Asylum Vol 4. Table 16q). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-july-to-september-2015/asylum.Data is not collated at ward or constituency level and to do so would incur disproportionate costs, it may also be precluded by the provisions of the Data Protection Act, given that individuals could reasonably be identified through the release of such data.

Asylum

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of establishment of safe and legal routes for asylum seekers wishing to enter the UK on the frequency of migrant deaths at sea.

James Brokenshire: Any migrant death is a tragedy and the international community must act to reduce the likelihood of more migrants losing their lives in this way or falling victim to smuggling and trafficking.The Government believes it is better to prioritise interventions upstream in countries of origin and transit in ways that reduce the need of migrants to leave their country of origin or move on from a safe third country. The UK is at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. On 4 February 2016, the Prime Minister announced that the UK will more than double our total pledge to the Syria crisis from £1.12 billion to over £2.3 billion. This is our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis.Furthermore, more than $11 billion was pledged at the Supporting Syria Conference the UK co-hosted in London on 4th February, the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis. The international community has pledged nearly $6 billion for 2016; with a further $5 billion for the coming years until 2020.However, for those individuals who cannot be supported in the region, the UK operates three resettlement programmes: Gateway, Mandate and the Syrian Resettlement Scheme. These provide a safe and direct route to the UK for the most vulnerable UNHCR recognised refugees.

HM Treasury

Financial Services: Islam

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the rental income generated for investors in his Department's sukuk bond scheme is equivalent to that of the coupon paid from a June 2014 Government five-year gilt.

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many buildings in London are part of his Department's sukuk bond scheme.

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department made of the merits of other potential methods of debt insurance before authorising use of government buildings in London as security for the sukuk bonds.

Harriett Baldwin: In the Sukuk structure, rental payments provide the income for investors. When the Sovereign Sukuk were issued in July 2014 the profit rate was set at 2.036% in line with the yield on gilts of similar maturity, making the investor return on the Sukuk broadly equivalent to that on conventional gilts of similar maturity. Three central government properties form the underlying assets which underpin the Sukuk. The Government was clear at the time of issuance that the Sukuk issuance was not for debt financing purposes. Instead, it was issued to deliver on the government’s commitment to become the western hub for Islamic finance. The issuance showed that the UK is open for business with all parts of the world and provided high quality capital to UK-based Islamic banks. UK based institutions that offer Islamic finance services are contributing to jobs and growth with assets totalling $4.5bn at the end of 2014.

Apprentices: Taxation

Dr Andrew Murrison: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of businesses and other organisations in (a) Wiltshire and (b) the UK that will be required to pay the apprenticeship levy.

Greg Hands: The apprenticeship levy will apply across the UK and will be collected from employers on a UK wide basis. An allowance of £15,000 means those with a paybill exceeding £3million will have to pay the levy. Regional level estimates of those likely to pay the Apprenticeship Levy is not available.

Banks

Dr Andrew Murrison: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the timetable is for his Department's plans to separate retail and investment banking arms.

Harriett Baldwin: The banks are required to separate by 1 January 2019 and implementation remains firmly on track.

Connaught Asset Management

Dame Angela Watkinson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information he holds on the reasons why the Financial Conduct Authority has not sought a restitution order against (a) Capita, (b) Blue Gate and (c) the directors of Tinta plc in relation to the Connaught Income Fund.

Harriett Baldwin: The issues raised are a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) who are operationally independent from Government. The questions have been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply directly to the Honorable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Financial Services: Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress officials in his Department have made on incorporating the proceeds of the £227 million fine imposed on Deutsche Bank in relation to their Libor activities into a new three-year fund to create 50,000 apprenticeships.

Greg Hands: This government will be spending twice as much in cash terms on apprenticeships by 2020 compared to 2010. Spending on apprenticeships in England will be £2.5bn in 2019-20. The BIS spending review settlement for apprenticeships reflects the government’s commitment regarding the proceeds of the Libor fine the FCA announced in April 2015. Further announcements that support the government’s commitment to delivering employment opportunities for young people will be announced in due course.

Financial Services and Markets Act 2000

Dame Angela Watkinson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information he holds on the reasons why the Financial Conduct Authority has not made use of the powers granted to it under sections 382 and 384 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to require restitution from  parties who by breaking regulatory requirements cause less to others.

Harriett Baldwin: The issues raised are a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) who are operationally independent from Government. The questions have been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply directly to the Honorable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Overseas Trade

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of trade statistics collected by the Government on identifying trade flows through second countries (a) in general and (b) where the UK exports a good or service to a first country which is then export on as a finished product.

Harriett Baldwin: UK Trade-in-Goods statistics are mainly compiled using customs documentation for non-EU movements, and via the Intrastat survey for EU movements. Goods which are transhipped through a first country (e.g. for transport reasons) en route to a second are recorded as movements to the ultimate receiving country (subject to the way in which they are declared to HMRC). Goods which are exported to a first country (e.g. for further process) will be recorded as an export to that country. Quality checks are regularly undertaken by HMRC with regard to all types of movements. More information on the Data Quality checks that are carried out by HMRC can be found in this published document “Methodology paper for the Overseas Trade Statistics” (https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/OverseasTradeStatistics/AboutOverseastradeStatistics/Documents/OTSMethodology_paper.pdf) . The UK Trade in Goods publication is a National Statistics product, meaning amongst other things, it is recognised for its quality.

Children: Day Care

Dr Andrew Murrison: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what metrics his Department plans to use to measure the effects of tax-free childcare on attainment in early years' education.

Damian Hinds: Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are developing plans to measure the success of Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) once it is in ‘steady state’ following the full rollout of the scheme. We will measure how well TFC performs against its policy objective to help working families with their childcare costs. We will continue to engage with stakeholders as we start to put in place these plans. The key programmes for early education are the 15 hours of free childcare offered to all 3 and 4-year olds, and eligible 2-year olds. These provisions are measured under Assessment and Reporting Arrangements set out by the Standards and Testing Agency to ensure attainment against the Early Years Framework.

Revenue and Customs: Debt Collection

Gavin Newlands: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the policy of HM Revenue and Customs is on using debt collection agencies to retrieve outstanding tax payments from (a) individuals and (b) businesses.

Mr David Gauke: As an integral part of its overall debt policy, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) uses private sector debt collection agencies as additional resource capacity, to extend the reach of its debt recovery activities (currently around 3% of all collection activity), particularly in relation to high volume, low value, debts. This ensures that all debts are kept in active recovery, and releases HMRC staff to focus on higher value more complex cases.

Revenue and Customs: Correspondence

Corri Wilson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many letters to HM Revenue and Customs from members of the public remained unanswered after (a) four, (b) eight and (c) 12 weeks in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not hold this data. However, they regularly publish general performance reports at Gov.uk.

Revenue and Customs: Cheques

Corri Wilson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many cheques sent to HM Revenue and Customs from members of the public remained uncashed for (a) four, (b) eight and (c) 12 weeks in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs contracts the supplier BancTec to process cheques received from customers. Cheques are passed to BancTec on the day they are received, 99% of the cheques received are banked on the day of receipt. Over the last 12 months there was only one occasion when the cheques were not banked on the day of receipt. In one percent of cases further information is required, usually from the customer, to enable the cheque to be processed. Generally, all cases that require investigation are resolved within four working days.

Revenue and Customs: Correspondence

Corri Wilson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the incidence of members of the public receiving multiple letters from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) conveying conflicting information; and what steps HMRC is taking to reduce such occurrences.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not hold this data. However, they regularly publish general performance reports at Gov.uk.

Revenue and Customs: Correspondence

Corri Wilson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans his Department has to improve HM Revenue and Customs' response times to written correspondence from members of the public.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has taken major steps to improve their customer service, including recruiting 3,000 new staff into customer service roles and undertaking their biggest-ever training programme to enable them to build customer support teams that can move across a wide range of work according to customer demand. HMRC have also introduced digital mail scanning to help manage the more than 1million items of post they receive every month.

Revenue and Customs: Correspondence

Corri Wilson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the efficiency of HM Revenue and Customs in handling written correspondence from members of the public.

Mr David Gauke: Such a review has not been carried out recently. However, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) regularly publish general performance reports at Gov.uk. HMRC targets for post are to reply to 80% within 15 working days, 95% within 40 working days, and 90% accuracy.

Dividend Tax Credits

Jim Shannon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with small and medium-sized enterprises on the proposed change to the dividend tax.

Mr David Gauke: Treasury Ministers and officials have discussions with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available on Gov.uk.

Trident Submarines

Emily Thornberry: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Defence Procurement on 24 November 2015, Official Report, column 1254, in what ways his Department plans to exercise oversight of the Successor submarine programme.

Greg Hands: The Successor delivery organisation that was announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review will be overseen by the Ministry of Defence. As with any major programme of this scale an appropriate scrutiny process is in place.

Multinational Companies: Tax Avoidance

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress the Government has made on the implementation of the OECD's Base Erosion and Profit Shifting programme; and what assessment he has made of the effect of that programme on the collection of corporation tax in the UK.

Mr David Gauke: The UK has been at the forefront of international efforts to tackle corporate tax avoidance through the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, which was completed in 2015. The UK has committed to introducing country-by-country reporting from 1 January 2016 and rules to deal with hybrid mismatch arrangements from 1 January 2017. As set out in Autumn Statement 2014, these measures are estimated to yield around £45 million and £260 million respectively over the next five years. The policy costings were certified by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility. The Government has also consulted on the OECD recommendations on the design of rules to prevent groups from gaining excessive tax deductions for interest expense, and how the OECD report on the definition of substantial activities in the context of preferential intellectual property regimes impacts the UK Patent Box.

Regional Planning and Development: North of England

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many publicly-funded jobs related directly to the Northern Powerhouse are located in (a) Cumbria, (b) Northern England, (c) London and (d) other parts of England.

Greg Hands: The Northern Powerhouse is the government’s plan to boost the economy across the North of England. This will help businesses grow and increase private sector job creation. Unlike previous failed attempts to improve the economic performance of the North, it is not about just creating publicly-funded jobs. There is already evidence that the Northern Powerhouse is working: according to the latest data, private sector employment outside of London and the South East increased by 1.5m between Q3 2010 and Q3 2015, and in the North alone there are almost 412,000 more people in work than in April 2010. Over the last year the number of people in employment in the North has grown faster than in the South. Employment in Cumbria has also grown by 6,700 (3%) since 2010 and 10,900 (4.7%) over the last year.

EDF Energy: Loan Guarantee Scheme

Paul Flynn: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the loan guarantee facility offered by his Department to EDF Energy for construction of the twin Hinkley Point C nuclear power plants will be conditional on the prior successful operation of the same model elsewhere in the world before entering into force.

Greg Hands: The Chancellor announced in September 2015 an initial guarantee of £2 billion of bonds which must be repaid by December 2020 by the shareholders of the project company. There is no further obligation to issue guarantees after that date.

Pensions

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to assist middle-income families with their pension planning.

Harriett Baldwin: The government is committed to making sure that people can access high quality, affordable, tailored advice and guidance to help them make informed financial decisions. The government set up Pension Wise to offer free and impartial guidance to those eligible to access the pension freedoms, to allow them to make confident, informed choices about how to use their retirement savings. The government has also extended access to the service, allowing those aged 50 and above to use guidance sessions to help them plan for their retirement. In addition, the Money Advice Service provides guides to help people improve their finances; tools and calculators to help them track and plan ahead; and offers support in person, over the phone and online. The government recognises that there is a potential “advice gap” for people who do not have significant wealth. The government launched the Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR), which is being led jointly by HM Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority, to look at how best to increase the accessibility and affordability of financial advice. The government also launched the Public Financial Guidance consultation to look at how the provision of public financial guidance could be made more effective for consumers. Both FAMR and the Public Financial Guidance consultation will publish their recommendations in time for Budget 2016.

Students: Loans

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the Government determines the Scottish Government's allocation of non-cash departmental expenditure budget for student loans.

Greg Hands: The Barnett Formula is applied in the normal way to calculate the Scottish Government’s allocation of non-cash departmental expenditure budget for student loans.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Electricity Generation: Finance

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what criteria her Department uses to designate technologies as less established for the purpose of Contract for Difference auctions.

Andrea Leadsom: In designating technologies in the less established group, we considered which technologies could have a significant long-term role in the UK energy mix, and where there remains significant potential for future cost reduction.

Electricity Generation: Finance

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she plans to publish further details of the next Contract for Difference auction; and which technologies she plans will be eligible for inclusion in that auction.

Andrea Leadsom: As announced by the Secretary of State in her speech in November, the current intention is to hold the next CFD allocation round for ‘less established’ technologies (pot 2) in late 2016. We will set out details around future rounds in due course.

Electricity

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the spare capacity is in each of the national electricity grid systems from which the UK buys electricity through interconnectors.

Andrea Leadsom: The security of supply contribution that interconnectors to other countries can make is assessed annually, based on detailed market modelling to determine anticipated electricity flows from connected markets at times of GB system stress. An overview of the 2015 assessment can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/439232/150629_SoS_NG_Confirmation_of_Capacity_Auction_Parameters.pdf In addition, there are arrangements in place for interconnectors to provide emergency response services to the System Operator outside of usual market operation. This includes reducing any exports to zero in the unlikely event of coincident stress with connected markets.

Energy: West Cumbria

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the amount of energy that would be generated in West Cumbria as a result of the (a) Moorside Nuclear development and (b) Solway Firth Tidal Gateway project; and what proportion of UK energy would be generated by those projects.

Andrea Leadsom: Nugen's proposal for Moorside is for three Toshiba Westinghouse AP1000 reactors, which together have a stated generation capacity of 3.6GW. This is equivalent to around 27 TWh per year once the station is fully operational. This is estimated to be equivalent to around 7% of the UK’s electricity generation needs in 2030. No assessment of the amount of generation which could be produced by a potential Solway Firth Tidal Gateway project has been made by my Department as we have not received any detailed proposal for such a project.

Solar Power

Dr Paul Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to promote domestic solar photovoltaic installations.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government is continuing to promote domestic solar photovoltaic installations with the Feed-in Tariff scheme which will support small-scale solar until 2019. We project that the FIT scheme could support up to 220,000 new solar installations between now and 2019.

Solar Power: VAT

Dr Paul Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the effect on uptake of renewable energy production of increasing VAT on domestic solar photovoltaic installations.

Andrea Leadsom: A recent European Court ruling found that the reduced rate of VAT on certain ‘energy saving materials’ was in breach of EU law. As a result HMRC recently consulted on how that reduced rate of VAT is applied and are currently considering the responses to that consultation. If it is decided that a change to VAT is appropriate, we will consider options on how to maintain a suitable rate-of-return for investors.

Plutonium

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much funding the Government has allocated to the continued assessment of options for plutonium management in the financial years (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18 and (c) 2018-19.

Andrea Leadsom: In Spending Review 2015, the Government committed £11bn net funding to NDA over five years (in addition to its forecast commercial income). Government is satisfied with the provision made in the NDA’s budget to continue to make meaningful progress on the plutonium disposition programme.

Sellafield: Plutonium

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether her Department plans to begin a procurement process for a technology to reuse plutonium stored at Sellafield before 2020.

Andrea Leadsom: Safely and securely managing plutonium remains a government priority. My Department is working across government, with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and industry to develop a solution. NDA submitted advice to support DECC in its considerations on the policy options for separated plutonium held in the UK, in December 2015. The report gives a view on the balance of attractiveness and risk of each reuse option (reuse as MOX and assessment of the credible alternatives PRISM and Candu); as well as immobilisation and continued storage. This, together with other sources of information and evidence, is informing DECC’s consideration of the options for the way forward. Only when Government is confident that an option could be implemented safely and securely, in way that is affordable, deliverable, and offers value for money, will it be in a position to proceed.

Coal Fired Power Stations

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of the coal burnt in UK coal-fired power stations originated in the USA in the first nine months of 2015.

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of the coal burnt in UK coal-fired power stations originated in Russia in the first nine months of 2015.

Andrea Leadsom: DECC does not hold figures on the proportion of coal burnt in UK coal-fired power stations, by country of origin. However, from January to September 2015, 16,784 thousand tonnes of steam coal (mainly used by coal-fired power stations) were imported into the UK, while coal used for electricity generation was 22,512 thousand tonnes during the same period. The USA provided 3,231 thousand tonnes of steam coal imports, 19% of all steam coal imports, while Russia provided 7,237 thousand tonnes (43%) Source:Energy Trends tables 2.1 and 2.4, available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/solid-fuels-and-derived-gases-section-2-energy-trends

Cabinet Office

Charities: Finance

Dr Andrew Murrison: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that charities report surplus funds awarded to them by the Government.

Mr Rob Wilson: All charities in receipt of government grants should submit a final budget reconciliation to the grant giver at the end of the grant demonstrating how all funds have been spent on the activities specified in the grant letter. The Cabinet Office’s published standard terms and conditions of the grant includes the right to recover the grant if it has not been used for the purposes and activities agreed or if terms and conditions have not been met.

Unemployment

Julian Knight: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress he has made in reducing the rate of unemployment.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Letter to Member - Rate of Unemployment
(PDF Document, 71.47 KB)

Department of Health

Compulsorily Detained Mental Patients: Children

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many young people aged 17 or under of each age were sectioned under the Mental Health Act in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Alistair Burt: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 08 February 2016.The correct answer should have been:

The National Police Chiefs Council has reported figures on the number of children held in police custody as a place of safety under section 136 of the Mental Health Act for only three years. These were as follows: 2012-13 256 255;2013-14 161 256; and2014-15 145 161. Data on children and young people sectioned under other sections of the Mental Health Act are not available centrally.

Alistair Burt: The National Police Chiefs Council has reported figures on the number of children held in police custody as a place of safety under section 136 of the Mental Health Act for only three years. These were as follows: 2012-13 256 255;2013-14 161 256; and2014-15 145 161. Data on children and young people sectioned under other sections of the Mental Health Act are not available centrally.

Compulsorily Detained Mental Patients: Children

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many young people aged 17 or under of each age were held in police custody as a place of safety in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Alistair Burt: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 08 February 2016.The correct answer should have been:

The National Police Chiefs Council has reported figures on the number of children held in police custody as a place of safety under section 136 of the Mental Health Act for only three years. These were as follows: 2012-13 256 255;2013-14 161 256; and2014-15 145 161. Data on children and young people sectioned under other sections of the Mental Health Act are not available centrally.

Alistair Burt: The National Police Chiefs Council has reported figures on the number of children held in police custody as a place of safety under section 136 of the Mental Health Act for only three years. These were as follows: 2012-13 256 255;2013-14 161 256; and2014-15 145 161. Data on children and young people sectioned under other sections of the Mental Health Act are not available centrally.

Dental Services: Children

Mr Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many three year olds received a free NHS dental check in (a) Nottingham North constituency, (b) Nottingham and (c) the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: Information is not collected centrally on the number of three year olds who received a free NHS dental examination. Information is available for the number of courses of treatment for 0-17 year olds that contained a dental examination.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of how many men who have sex with men (MSM) are expected to receive the HPV vaccine each year as a result of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation's recommendation that it be offered at sexual health clinics; and what proportion of the MSM population aged up to 45 his Department estimates will have been vaccinated within (a) one year, (b) five years and (c) 10 years of that vaccine first being so offered.

Jane Ellison: In November 2015, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the expert body that advises the Government on all immunisation matters, advised that a targeted human papillomavirus vaccination programme should be undertaken for men who have sex with men (MSM) up to 45 years of age who attend genitourinary medicine and HIV clinics. They noted that this should be subject to procurement of the vaccine and delivery of the programme at a cost-effective price. JCVI acknowledged that finding a way to implement its advice would be challenging and made clear that work was needed by the Department and others to consider commissioning and delivery routes for this programme. This work is already underway and we will announce our plans as soon as we can. The Department is not yet in a position to suggest estimates of the numbers or proportion of MSM who might be vaccinated from this potential vaccination programme.

Visual Impairment: Wealden

Nusrat Ghani: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in Wealden constituency are registered as (a) blind and (b) partially sighted.

Alistair Burt: Information on the numbers of people with sight impairment is collected by the Health and Social Care Information Centre every three years. Data is not collected at constituency level as part of the Registered Blind and Partially Sighted collection and so a response has been provided covering East Sussex, the council with adult social services responsibility which includes the Wealden constituency. According to the Registered Blind and Partially Sighted People report for England for the year ending 31 March 2014, there were 1,915 people registered as blind and 1,990 people registered as partially sighted within the East Sussex local authority area.

General Practitioners: Wealden

Nusrat Ghani: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many full-time equivalent GPs were employed in general practices in Wealden constituency in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13 and (e) 2013-14.

Alistair Burt: The information is shown in the following table. Total general practitioners (GPs) in selected area, Full Time Equivalents 2009-2014: 200920102011201220132014East Sussex Downs and Weald Primary Care Trust (PCT)  Total GPs236240243242  GPs (excluding registrars)213213219220  GPS (excluding retainers and registrars)208211217218  GP Provider179173173173  GP Other29384345  GP Registrar22272521  GP Retainer5222  NHS High Weald Lewes Havens Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)  Total GPs115110GPs (excluding registrars)110110GPS (excluding retainers and registrars)109109GP Provider8078GP Other2931GP Registrar51GP Retainer00Source: The Health and Social Care Information Centre General and Personal Medical Services Statistics   Notes: Data as at 30 September in each yearNHS Workforce figures are not available by constituency. Wealden constituency was contained within and serviced by East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT from 2009-2012 and NHS High Weald Lewes Havens CCG from 2013 onwards. These trusts are not geographically co-terminus and thus the figures are not comparable over a time series.

Obesity

Nusrat Ghani: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of (a) children and (b) adults in (i) Wealden constituency, (ii) East Sussex and (iii) England were classified as (A) overweight and (B) obese in each of the last 10 years.

Jane Ellison: Child and adult overweight and obesity prevalence data are not published using parliamentary constituency boundaries, however the data is available for the corresponding local authority of Wealden. Local authority level data on overweight and obese children are collected through the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP). The NCMP measures the height and weight of primary school children in Reception (age four-five years) and Year six (age 10-11 years). Data for each local authority, county, region and England are available to download from: http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB19109 and http://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/national-child-measurement-programme (The first link is the latest NCMP data, 2014/15. The second link includes counts and rates of children and trend data from 2006/07 to 2014/15). Data on overweight and obese adults at a sub-national level are available through the active people survey and are published as pooled data for the period 2012-2014. The data for adults are from a sample survey (Active People Survey). The Active People Survey only began collecting data on adult height and weight in 2012, therefore local authority level data are not available before this date. Data for each local authority, county, region and England are available to download from: http://www.noo.org.uk/visualisation (the third article on the web page).

Health Services: Shipping

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of non-emergency care in the NHS for non-EEA seafarers employed on UK registered ships in each year since 2009-10.

Alistair Burt: The Department does not hold this information.

Pharmacy

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has made an assessment of (a) the number of potential closures of and (b) the reduction in community pharmacies as a result of proposed reductions in funding to such pharmacies.

Alistair Burt: Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population. We are not able to assess which pharmacies may close because we do not know the financial viability of individual businesses or the extent to which they derive income from services commissioned locally by the NHS or local authorities or have non-NHS related income.

General Practitioners: Wealden

Nusrat Ghani: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients are registered at each GP surgery in Wealden constituency; what the capacity of each such surgery is; and how many such surgeries are oversubscribed.

Alistair Burt: NHS England advises that the Wealden constituency includes practices from two clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) – High Weald Lewes Havens CCG and Eastbourne, Hailsham and Seaford CCG. NHS England advises that surgeries do not have a specific maximum number of patients allowed to register at a general practitioner (GP) surgery. If a practice considers that it has too many patients registered, or wishing to register, then it may request a temporary list closure, try and recruit more GPs/nurses, or may extend its premises. NHS England confirms that none of these surgeries currently have closed lists. NHS England has provided the information as shown in the following tables. GP practices in the High Weald Lewis Havens CCG area, with current list sizes (number of registered patients) Ashdown Forest Health Centre9,705Beacon Surgery10,638Bird-In-Eye Surgery7,761Buxted Medical Centre10,602Groombridge and Hartfield Medical Group5,099Heathfield Surgery12,512Manor Oak Surgery3,466Rotherfield Surgery7,376Saxonbury House Surgery9,236The Meads8,366Wadhurst Medical Group8,802Woodhill Surgery3,237 Source: NHS England. Validated but unpublished information on GP practice list sizes from an approved statistical collection. GP practices in Eastbourne, Hailsham and Seaford CCG area, with current list sizes (number of registered patients) Downlands Surgery, Polegate10,539Manor Park Surgery, Polegate6,740Bridgeside Surgery, Hailsham5,827Hailsham Medical Group13,067Quintins Medical Centre, Hailsham6,699Herstmonceux Health Centre3,804Crescent Medical Centre, Hailsham1,540Stone Cross Surgery11,817 Source: NHS England. Validated but unpublished information on GP practice list sizes from an approved statistical collection.

Dementia

Nusrat Ghani: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of adults in (a) Wealden constituency, (b) East Sussex and (c) England have been diagnosed with dementia in each of the last 10 years.

Jane Ellison: Information available in the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), published by the Health and Social Care Information, on the number of people with dementia has been collected since 2006/07. Information is collected at National Health Service organisation level, and not constituency level. Data on the number of people with dementia in the East Sussex Downs and Weald Primary Care Trust, the clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) that replaced it and England are shown in the tables below. Table 1: QOF: Patients on the dementia register and prevalence rates in the specified CCGs, 2012/13 to 2014/15. Table 1a: NHS High Weald Lewes Havens CCG YearNumber of general practitioner (GP) PracticesList SizeNumber of Patients on the Dementia RegisterPrevalence2014/1521167,9741,4000.832013/1422166,6971,1320.682012/1322166,6031,0110.61 Table 1b: NHS Eastbourne, Hailsham and Seaford CCG YearNumber of GP PracticesList SizeNumber of Patients on the Dementia RegisterPrevalence2014/1521190,7802,2471.182013/1421187,7511,8510.992012/1322187,0581,8220.97 Table 2: QOF: Patients on the dementia register and prevalence rates in East Sussex Downs and Weald Primary Care Trust, 2006/07 to 2011/12 YearNumber of GP PracticesList SizeNumber of Patients on the Dementia RegisterPrevalence2011/1244349,9212,5380.732010/1144347,5472,3600.682009/1045347,5382,1810.632008/0944345,7472,0490.592007/0845343,8821,9080.552006/0745341,1801,7570.51 Table 3: QOF: Patients on the dementia register and prevalence rates in England, 2006/07 to 2014/15. 2006/7 to 2014/15 Numbers and percentagesYearNumber of GP PracticesList SizeNumber of Patients on the Dementia RegisterPrevalence2014/157,77956,817,654419,0730.742013/147,92156,324,887348,9730.622012/138,02056,012,096318,6690.572011/128,12355,525,732293,7380.532010/118,24555,169,643266,6970.482009/108,30554,836,561249,4630.452008/098,22954,310,660232,4300.432007/088,29454,009,831220,2460.412006/078,37253,681,098212,7940.40 Note: Raw Prevalence = (number on clinical register / number on practice list) *100

Meningitis: Vaccination

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost to the public purse was of the campaign to encourage (a) young people and (b) first-year university students to take up the Men ACWY vaccine.

Jane Ellison: The total marketing budget for the campaign to encourage the uptake of the Men ACWY vaccine was £99,000. The paid-for activities formed part of an integrated communications and marketing approach which involved Public Health England working closely with NHS England, meningitis charities and Universities UK. National, regional, online and specialist print and broadcast media coverage of the vaccination campaign was secured at no cost. The vaccination programme was also promoted through university networks at national and regional/local level.

Meningitis: Vaccination

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has for implementing a meningitis vaccination programme for older adults.

Jane Ellison: The Department has no plans to introduce a meningitis vaccination programme for older adults. National immunisation programmes are introduced following advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the expert body that advises the government on all immunisation matters. JCVI reviewed all available evidence and advised that immunisation against meningococcal group B should be routinely offered to infants from two months of age and immunisation against meningococcal A, C, W and Y should be routinely offered to teenagers aged around 14 years.

Down's Syndrome: Screening

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to implement the recommendation of the National Screening Committee, made in January 2016, on making non-invasive prenatal testing for Down's syndrome available to expectant mothers.

Ben Gummer: The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) has recommended that non-invasive prenatal testing for Down’s syndrome should be introduced as an additional test into the NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme as part of an evaluation. Ministers are currently considering this important recommendation from the UK NSC which has the potential to transform antenatal care.

Department of Health: Buildings

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the ownership of (a) Richmond House and (b) Wellington House under an Islamic bond has affected any activity of his Department.

Jane Ellison: The Department’s activity has not been affected by the establishment of an Islamic bond on its premises in Richmond House and Wellington House.

Hepatitis: Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what funding has been provided for (a) set-up costs and (b) ongong running costs of the Operational Delivery Networks established to support access to hepatitis C medicines.

George Freeman: NHS England initially allocated £1.2 million and is working with local commissioners to ensure that the necessary infrastructure and running costs are provided to the operational delivery networks.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to (a) measure and (b) evaluate the effect of the men who have sex with men human papillomavirus vaccination programme on reducing rates of infection.

Jane Ellison: In November 2015, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advised that a targeted human papilloma virus vaccination programme for men who have sex with men attending genito-urinary medicine and HIV clinics should be undertaken, subject to procurement of the vaccine and delivery of the programme at a cost-effective price. The Department and Public Health England are considering the JCVI’s advice, including how such a programme could be monitored and evaluated.

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust: Junior Doctors

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many junior doctors are employed by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.

Ben Gummer: As of 31 October 2015, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust employed 389 full time equivalent doctors in the relevant grades.This is the latest available data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre’s Provisional NHS Hospital and Community Health Service monthly workforce statistics, which are published monthly online.

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust: Nurses

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nurses are employed by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many midwives are employed by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.

Ben Gummer: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is requested is shown in the following table.  NHS Hospital and Community Health Services: Qualified Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting staff, and Registered Midwives in East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust as at 31 October 2015  Full-time equivalent October 2015Qualified Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting staff2,232Of which:Qualified Nurses2,019  Registered Midwives212 Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre, Provisional Monthly Workforce Statistics Notes: Full-time equivalent figures are rounded to the nearest whole number.These statistics relate to the contracted positions within English National Health Service organisations and may include those where the person assigned to the position is temporarily absent, for example on maternity leave.The Health and Social Care Information Centre seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses.As from 21 July 2010 the Health and Social Care Information Centre has published provisional monthly NHS workforce data. As expected with provisional statistics, some figures may be revised from month to month as issues are uncovered and resolved. This information is available from September 2009 onwards at the following website: NHS Workforce Statistics, Provisional statistics - Monthly Statistics

Ambulance Services

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many ambulances waited more than 30 minutes to offload their patients in (a) England, (b) London and (c) each health trust area in London in each year from 2010 to 2015.

Jane Ellison: This information is not available in the format requested. NHS England collect winter daily situation reports which, up until the end of winter 2014/15, included data on ambulance handover delayed over 30 minutes. This is published at the following address: http://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/winter-daily-sitreps/winter-sitrep/

Vaccination: Males

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ask the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to conduct an equality impact assessment as part of its decision-making process on the vaccination of adolescent boys.

Jane Ellison: I refer the hon. Member to the Written Answer I gave the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay (Mr John Baron) on 20 July 2015 to Question 7298.

Health Services: Social Enterprises

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of social enterprises in delivering high quality healthcare services.

Ben Gummer: It is a statutory obligation that decisions on healthcare provision should be taken independently by local commissioners. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) must decide how to use their resources in a way which is evidence based, clinically-led and cost-effective in order to provide high-quality healthcare for people in their area. CCGs must also balance both short-term need and long-term transformation in line with the NHS Five Year Forward View’s (5YFV) objectives.Where a social enterprise provides a regulated activity, under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, it will have to register with the CQC and follow a set of fundamental standards of safety and quality below which care should never fall. Following inspection of individual social enterprise providers, the CQC will publish a report on its website.The Government firmly believes that providers from all sectors, including social enterprises, play an important role in providing high quality, safe and efficient care to patients, as well as helping to realise the ambitions set out in the NHS 5YFV. That is why, working in partnership with Public Health England, NHS England and representatives from the voluntary sector, the Department is in the final stages of a review looking at partnerships and investment in the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. The final report of the review is expected to be published in the spring.

Muscular Dystrophy: Drugs

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent progress has been made on access to Translarna in discussions between NICE, NHS England and the relevant pharmaceutical company.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to announce a decision on access to Translarna after the NICE Highly Specialised Technology Committee meeting on 17 February 2016.

George Freeman: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently evaluating Translarna (ataluren) for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy through its highly specialised technology programme. The publication date for NICE’s final guidance is to be confirmed. NHS England has advised that it is in constructive discussions with the pharmaceutical company about the development of a managed access agreement for Translarna and a progress update will be given at the next NICE Evaluation Committee meeting on 17 February 2016. In the absence of guidance from NICE, it is for commissioners to make decisions on whether to fund medicines based on an assessment of the available evidence.

Babies: Death

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce deaths of premature babies.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps he has taken to reduce stillbirths.

Ben Gummer: We are committed making sure every baby receives consistently high quality care, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In November 2015, the Government announced a national ambition to halve by 2030 the rates of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths and brain injuries occurring during or soon after birth. To support the National Health Service in achieving this ambition we also announced:― a £2.24 million capital fund for equipment to improve safety;― over £1 million to roll out training programmes to make sure staff have the skills and confidence they need to deliver world-leading safe care; and― £500,000 to develop a new system that can be used consistently across the NHS to enable staff to review and learn from every stillbirth and neonatal death. The announcement also committed to publishing an annual report to update the public, health professionals, providers and commissioners on the progress we are making towards achieving the ambition. The National Maternity Review, chaired by Baroness Cumberlege, will include proposals for the future shape of modern, high quality and sustainable maternity services across England. We anticipate that its report will have an important role in shaping the system to achieve our ambition. For those babies who are born sick or premature, NHS England commissions Neonatal Care from 165 neonatal units. These units are organised and supported by 13 Operational Delivery Networks. The organisation of networks has brought tangible benefits in the delivery of babies in the right place to receive specialist care when it is needed. NHS England’s Neonatal Critical Care Service Specification states that providers should ensure that expert and experienced staff treat sufficient numbers of cases to maintain a safe high quality service and move towards national standards. It is for local hospital trusts and specialised commissioners to decide how best to use the guidance and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence quality standard for specialist neonatal care to improve babies’ chances of survival and minimise mortality associated with being born either premature or unwell. We know that that there is still more to do to ensure these services are consistent across the country and that is why the Neonatal Clinical Reference Group at NHS England has committed to review the findings of the Bliss report, (published in October 2015 which can be found here http://www.bliss.org.uk/babyreport), and will work with all of its key partners to make recommendations for further improvement. Unless we invest in research we cannot understand how to best improve services for mothers and their babies. Significant sums have been invested over recent years in support of research looking at important questions regarding premature birth. The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funds a range of research relating to causes, risk factors and prevention of stillbirth and neonatal death. The NIHR Health Technology Assessment is funding a £6.0 million trial of an intelligent system to support decision making in the management of labour using the cardiotocogram - due to report in 2017. The NIHR is also funding a £1.2 million study on preventing adverse pregnancy outcome in women at increased risk of stillbirth by detecting placental dysfunction– due to report in 2019. To help achieve the best outcomes, women are also offered a comprehensive programme of scans, screening tests and development examinations during pregnancy and following birth babies will receive the checks in the NHS newborn and infant physical examination screening programme and the NHS newborn blood spot screening programme .

Ovarian Cancer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the new treatment for ovarian cancer is likely to be available on the NHS.

George Freeman: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that makes recommendations for the National Health Service on the use of selected drugs and treatments through its technology appraisal and highly specialised technologies programmes. In January 2016 NICE published a technology appraisal guidance recommending olaparib as an option for treating adults with relapsed, platinum sensitive ovarian, fallopian tube or peritoneal cancer who have BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations and whose disease has responded to platinum based chemotherapy where certain criteria apply. NICE is currently appraising a number of other potential treatments for ovarian cancer. Further information is available at: www.nice.org.uk/guidance/conditions-and-diseases/cancer/ovarian-cancer In developing its technology appraisal guidance NICE works closely with stakeholders, including manufacturers. In the absence of NICE guidance, it is for commissioners to make funding decisions based on an assessment of the available evidence.

Prisoners: Health Services

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many times a prisoner from each prison has been airlifted to receive medical attention in each of the last five years.

Ben Gummer: This information is not collected centrally.

Urinary System: Diseases

Gavin Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the cost to the NHS of antibiotics used to treat urinary tract infections in each of the last three years.

George Freeman: Information on why a drug has been prescribed is not collected.